Coronavirus (COVID-19) information

We are currently still sending orders out with our couriers DPD and Myhermes. Please check out a full statement from our couriers below.

 

Coronavirus update

Following the recent outbreak of Covid-19 in the UK we’ve put in place a number of measures to protect our customers as well as our parcel people, so we can make sure that our business is as prepared as possible.

 

We would like to reassure you that we’re actively following all government guidelines as health and safety remains the top priority across our business to protect our customers and our people.

 

Public Health England has advised that people receiving parcels are not at increased risk of contracting the virus as it doesn’t survive long on non-metallic surfaces.

 

There is currently no impact on our parcel delivery services but you will see some differences in how your courier will go about delivering your parcel from now on as we reduce physical contact.

 

Protecting our customers

There’s a lot that is still unknown about the Coronavirus but we know it’s best to minimise physical contact to stop the virus spreading. Because of this, we’re encouraging all of our customers to choose their preferred safe place for deliveries by following the Track & Divert link in the parcel notifications we send.

 

If a safe place hasn’t been chosen but there is somewhere safe to deliver the parcel, we’ll leave it there, even if there’s someone in the property – we’ll take a photo which will be included in the delivery notification email.

 

If no safe place is available or a signature is required, we’ll knock on the door and step aside making sure the parcel is delivered safely. For those parcels requiring a signature, couriers have temporarily been given approval to confirm receipt on behalf of a customer; but only when that customer has answered the door and given them permission to do so. This has been put in place to minimise contact. If there is no answer, the parcel will be returned to our depot and we will re-attempt delivery 3 times.

 

As a preventative measure, we will not be handing over our hand-held devices to customers to capture signatures.

 

We’re encouraging our couriers to follow all government guidelines and take extra precautions by frequently wiping down regularly touched items such as handheld devices, mobile phones, handles and steering wheels.

 

Protecting our couriers 

We’ve made a choice to do the right thing and have made a £1 million pound fund available for our self-employed couriers, to help support them if they need to self-isolate. We will also support them in finding someone to deliver on their behalf if they do not have a substitute and guarantee that their rounds will be kept open for them for when they return.

 

We’ve also advised our couriers to limit any personal contact such as handshakes, so please don’t take it personally.

 

Protecting our people

We’re communicating with all our parcel people regularly to update them of government guidelines, best practice handwashing and high standards of hygiene.

 

A dedicated mailbox for specific questions from our people has also been set up. We’ve also provided all our sites with additional hand washing equipment and sanitisers and we’re following government guidelines in relation to sick pay and self-isolation.

 

We will continue to do everything we can to support our customers and people so we can carry on delivering parcels.

 

Steps we are taking for a contact free delivery:

  

Divert your parcel to a safe place

We’re encouraging all of our customers to choose their preferred safe place for deliveries. If you have a tracking number for your parcel, you can go to the tracking section, choose ‘divert’ and select a safe place. This can also be done through our My Places app.

 

Automatic delivery to a safe place

If a safe place hasn’t been chosen but there is somewhere safe to deliver the parcel, we’ll leave it there - even if there’s someone in the property. We’ll take a photo, which will be included in the delivery notification email.

 

Steps our couriers are taking to avoid contact

If no safe place is available or a signature is required, we’ll knock on the door and step aside making sure the parcel is delivered safely. If there is no answer, we will return the parcel to the depot and re-attempt delivery on another day.

 

For those parcels requiring a signature, couriers have been temporarily given approval to confirm receipt on behalf of a customer; but only when that customer has answered the door and given them permission to do so.